


Across the waves

by TwurtleEggy



Series: Ori, but a little to the left [10]
Category: Ori and the Blind Forest, Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Genre: F/F, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I made Mokk a librarian, Libraries, and nobody can stop me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:01:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24030229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwurtleEggy/pseuds/TwurtleEggy
Summary: What happens in Niwen better stay there.A collection of events within Niwen.
Relationships: Ori & Mokk the Brave (Ori and the Blind Forest), Past Kuro/Mora (Ori and the Blind Forset)
Series: Ori, but a little to the left [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709002
Comments: 26
Kudos: 31





	1. Queen Nothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Queen of Nothing, your crown shines alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning: Implied past murder and mentioned past child abuse

She looks out, out into the dark. 

She is met not by silence, but by the chattering of hundreds of her children. They roamed the infinite shadows, playing, hunting, doing... whatever they wanted, really. The darkness of this land belonged to them, and them alone.

Alone. Loneliness was not something she expected to feel. Not down here in the dark, where her children roamed. For much of her life, their company had sufficed. She had been happy down here in the infinite dark, surrounded by her kind and her kind alone. Yet, all it had taken was a single visitor to stir the curse that was loneliness within her. That spirit, the one who shone differently from all the spirits of Niwen.

A nimble one, faster than she could see sometimes, yet he struck with power she would never expect from such a small body. After he had freed her from the wicked claws of corruption, he had taken the Forest's eyes to aid him in his quest. Such a gentle soul, she had wished to make sure he succeeded. As such, she had watched from within the darkest of shadows, picked off any corruptions that wished to use her realm to harm the spirit. She had watched his trials, watched as he struck down every foe that crossed his path.

She watched his heart break when the great frog died, watched as he made his promise. She watched when he smote the Silent Enforcer.

She could not watch him embrace the forest's light, could only mourn that a soul seemingly bound for the horizons was now stuck in one place.

Ever since that day, she had avoided the light. She knew it was necessary, necessary for the forest to stay in balance. Yet, that did not mean she had to interact with it; its presence within the forest was enough. It would tread not within her domain.

This rule she applied to all but those native to her lands; no foreigners would be granted passage into the Mouldwood.

Yet... perhaps, in retrospect, that was a rather poor idea. Her kingdom, though expansive, was rather dull to her. She had already seen it all, and little changed within the dark; its inhabitants were all that interested her now. Even they had become rather boring, however. They were as unchanging as the walls, and she knew all that she cared to know about all those she cared know.

She examined the walls. There was a fungus littered upon them, one which had only surfaced mere weeks ago. And yet, it already stained much of her world, covering it in a toxic pale pink glow. She and her children had already tried to remove them, yet for each cap they cut out, three more seemed to take its place. There seemed no solution to her plight.

At least... there was no solution within the dark. She knew of others above, within the light. She was desperate, as these bizarre mushrooms were beginning to coat practically every surface of the depths. There was no escape below.

She would have to ask for help from above.

* * *

"Ah, hello?"

She looked down at the... whatever he was. Probably some sort of goat. That was unimportant; what was important was the knowledge he possessed. "Hello," she hissed, "you are Veral, yes?"

"Um, yes, I am! And you are?"

"Irrelevant." She had no time for small talk. "You are a cook, yes?"

"I... am."

"Do you know of a pink fungus that has a habit of quickly spreading?"

His face lit up. "Yes, I do! The-"

"I do not care what it is called," she interrupted. "How do I get rid of it?"

"Why would you want to get rid of it!" he exclaimed, a look of horror on his face. "Bulsap mushrooms are incredibly hard to find!"

"They invade the Mouldwood," she hissed. _"I want them gone. Now tell me how to get rid of them."_

The goat glared at her. "...Very well. On one condition!"

_"What condition?"_

"I want some of them." She blinked.

"You _want_ these accursed growths?"

"They are incredibly difficult to find!"

She thought for a moment. "And why should I give you anything?"

"That's how business works," he said, crossing his arms. "I have something you want, you have something I want. I give you what you want, and you give me what I want in return."

She glared at him. "Or I could just eat you."

He scoffed. "Then how will you get rid of the Bulsaps?"

"...Fine," she spat. "I will bring you a small bundle of these fungi. Now tell me how to get rid of them!"

He huffed. "Give me a day and I can cook up something to get rid of them, alright?"

"Fine." She walked away from him, returning back to the shadows she had come from.

These light dwellers were irritating. Useful, but irritating.

* * *

She dropped the net bag full of fungi. "Here are your wretched plants. Now, the serum?"

"It's a paste, not a serum," he sighed. He peeked at the bag and grunted at the sight of the fungi. "Well, that looks like enough to last a while. The paste is almost done, it just needs some time to cool." He motioned to the cauldron next to him.

She leaned over it to get a look, and snapped back with a gag upon smelling it. _"What is this foul concoction?"_

"The paste," he laughed. Irritant. He dragged the net bag over to a corner. "Ori's sure to like these."

He knew the Spirit Tree? "I highly doubt the light needs fertilizer."

"Ferti-Oh, you saw what happened to him." She nodded somberly. "Well, he's back to normal now."

She turned to him. "...What?"

"He's not a tree anymore. Strangest thing I ever-"

_"Where is he?"_ She leaned into the goat-thing's face. _"Tell me NOW."_

He backed up, though there was no fear on his face. "Nibel. It's across the water."

Across the water? "How? He can not fly." Well, there was that feather thing he had gotten. But that let him _glide,_ not _fly!_

"An owl picked him up. Biggest one I've ever seen to be honest." An owl? And one of incomparable size?

It couldn't be...

* * *

She watched as the goddess flew into the Wellspring. Of course it could be, _of course it was._

She skittered to the edges of the dark. She would confront her; this realm belonged to _her_. She was weak no longer; she would not let the owl change her world again.

Yet, as she made to approach the Judge, she saw her face. That damned smile, it had swept so many hearts into the Judge's grasp. Once, it had even stolen her's. But not now, not this time. This time, she would show just how strong she was.

Or so she thought, right up until the owl turned and saw her. Of course, she had good night vision, how could she forget? The Judge smiled and gave her a look, one that made her weaker than even the lowest of creatures. She scrambled deep into the dark, hoping she could escape the owl's influence.

It was not to be, however, as she sat in silence within the depths of her domain. She heard the fluttering of feathers, and Nevermore emerged from the dark. "Mora! How are you?"

"Leave!" she hissed, scrambling further back into the dark. "Leave this place, and never return!" Her efforts were for naught, as the owl did not slow. Instead, she flitted over to the spider queen, and seemed to examine her entire being.

"You still have those scars..." she looked down at her legs. 

"Yes, that is how scars work," she hissed. "Now leave!"

Nevermore didn't leave. She looked around the entirety of the Mouldwood, seemed to practically soak it all in. "This is a rather nice place you've chosen to settle." Most of her was infuriated, enraged that the owl dared to defy her; a tiny sliver of her, however, was incredibly excited that the goddess approved of her abode. 

She rose onto her hind legs, and raised her front legs. _"LEAVE!"_ she screamed, threat hanging in the air.

Nevermore still did not leave, only tilted her head and seemed to look towards Mora's back. "You still have the ones up there too."

"I-" She thought for a moment, wary and cautious. "...Why? Why did you do it?"

"They deserved it," Nevermore hissed. "They abused you. They weren't fit to be alive, never mind be parents. The only good thing they ever did was bring you into the world."

She shuddered. "No. No. I deser-"

"No you didn't," the owl said. "You did nothing wrong."

"...You're sure?"

"Positive."

She looked at the ground, then sighed. "Why do you affect me like this?"

Nevermore laughed loudly, the sound reverberating through her domain. "Many have asked me that question, Mora. Not even I truly know the answer." She leaned a bit farther towards the spider. "Now, shall I take my leave, your majesty?"

She snorted. "'Your majesty'? Since when was I a queen?"

"You certainly seem to be the queen of this place."

"Then I am the queen of nothing," she scoffed. "Nothing but a sliver of darkness within your infinite night."

"Perhaps," the owl muttered, "but don't you think it's better to be the queen of nothing than the slave of fate?"

"...I suppose so. And yes, please continue."

* * *

She watched the goddess fly away, across the waters and to this strange 'Nibel' place she apparently now called home. "Kuro..." she muttered. "What a nice name."

She felt much better now, as she turned and looked into the dark of her kingdom. Those obnoxious fungi no longer littered practically every surface of the land, now carefully sectioned off to a small area where they could be safely harvested. She found it ironic in a way that the first export of her domain would be something she despised. It held less than no value to her, yet those above found great pleasure in using it for a select few foodstuffs. Strange, how different the separate parts of Niwen could be from each other.

Her realm had returned to the dark shadows she so dearly loved, so greatly wished for the embrace of. They would never replace her former love, but they were an effective enough distraction. And perhaps, she thought, the light could be as well. It stung her eyes, but it's warmth brought her memories of happier times, some of the best of her life. Their edges swirled with the stinging whispers of decay, yet such a thing could be ignored, held at bay. For she knew memory to be a powerful thing. Even if someone is gone, memories of them kept what remained of them alive.

She looked down at her front limbs, seeing the scars begin to fade as she soaked them in a healing liquid Veral had made. To remember something was to preserve it, even once it was gone. Yet, all creatures must be careful with what they chose to remember; for some things were better left forgotten.


	2. Knowledge of all sorts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mokk librarian Mokk librarian Mokk librarian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got this done! I kid you not, one of this chapter's previous revisions involved aliens. What was I thinking?

Mokk pushed the last book into place, and sighed; just in time.

He walked back up to the front of the building he currently resided within, and sat down on a stool behind a decently sized desk. A book, a pen, and an ink bottle sat upon the desk, neatly arranged in a row. The desk and stool were both made from an oak log, which he had spent almost three full weeks carefully carving out into the shapes they now took.

The door to the building opened with a small creak, and Mokk smiled widely as he looked to the entrance. "Hello there! Looking for something?"

A small spider walked up to the counter and looked around, eyes narrowed. "Miss Mora sent me to get a book on fungus."

He hummed happily, and started flipping through the book on the desk. "Fungus, fungus... ones known to grow in the Mouldwood, or just in general?"

"General, please."

Mokk nodded his head, and flipped through a couple more pages. "Section two, towards the back. Middle shelf, red spine labeled 'Fungi of the World'."

The spider thanked him with a nod, and walked deeper into the building, leaving his sight. He hummed a little tune to himself, and looked around the library. He was proud of it, having refurbished it from an abandoned building almost on his own, only needing to ask a couple Gorlek to help him fix some of the less stable supports. The library was admittedly rather small, but he didn't have many books anyways, so that was okay.

The door creaked again, and Mokk turned to look at the newcomer. "Welcome! ...Ah, hello Gumo, how are you? I didn't know you were visiting."

"I'm doing quite well," the spindly creature said. "And I'm not visiting alone. Ori should be along soon as well."

"Thanks for the heads-up. Do you need help with anything?"

"No, I know what I'm looking for. Thank you though." Mokk nodded with a smile, and the Gumon walked off into the shelves.

A couple minutes later, the spider walked back up to the desk, red book held in one of its limbs. "Found what you were looking for?"

"Yeah, thank you."

"Great to hear!" Mokk flipped to the front of his book, and picked up his pen. "How long are you going to be taking that for?"

"Um... a few days, I think. I'm not sure."

Mokk hummed, and tapped the desk with his free hand. "How about I just put you in for one week?"

"Sounds good to me." He nodded, and quickly wrote down what book was being taken, the one week take out period, and wrote in 'Mora' for who was taking it, as she had requested he do for all the spiders after the first couple times they had borrowed a book from his library.

"And you're all set! Have a nice day!" The spider nodded and gave him their thanks, then left out the front door. Moments later, the door creaked open once more, and Ori walked through, bouncing up and down on his feet. "Hello Ori!"

"Mokk!" The spirit reached over the counter of the desk, wrapping the Moki in a hug that he returned as best as he could. "It's been way to long, hasn't it?"

Mokk nodded his head rapidly, backing up from the Spirit Guardian. "It certainly has been. But anyways, back on track. Are you here for anything in particular, or just browsing as usual?"

"Looking for something specific, actually. Do you have any books on romance?"

A sly look passed over the moki's face, and he leaned onto the desk. "Romance? Oh Ori, I didn't know you were such a sap!" The spirit blushed and looked away, rubbing the back of his head. Mokk giggled and flipped open the book on his desk. "Just teasing! What sort of romance book are you looking for? Fiction, tragedy, comedy..?"

"Um, one on romantic advice."

Mokk blinked twice and narrowed his eyes. "Romantic advice..." He spent a minute flipping through the book. "I don't believe we have any books like that. Why not ask that owl lady that always brings you over? Isn't she in a relationship?"

"I trust Kuro's relationship advice about as much as I trust in Seir's ability to not be creepy."

"So not at all, got it." Mokk closed the book and started tapping his cheek with his fingers. "Hummm... I could give you some relationship advice." Ori's expression turned skeptical. "I didn't say it would be _good_ advice."

"Yeah, but it's usually implied."

"Not in my reality. What kind of romantic advice do you want?"

Ori rolled his shoulders a little. "How to set up a date, I guess. And your reality sucks, by the way."

"Shut up, my reality is great." Mokk's eyes glittered with happiness. "As for a date... how about one at night? Pick a night with clear skies, in an open field, just you and your partner sitting shoulder to shoulder staring up at the stars..."

"What if my partner doesn't have shoulders?"

"That's... not the point. Anyways, if you wanted to do something during the day, maybe go for a walk in the woods? Find somewhere nice and peaceful, and just stroll around for a while. Ooh, or maybe a picnic?"

"We do picnics all the time back in Nibel; I don't think I could really make one romantic."

Mokk shrugged and waved a hand dismissively in the air. "Still, it's worth considering. Maybe a lake date? Those are nice."

"Mokk, have you ever been on a date in your life?"

"Do my overly detailed daydreams count?" Ori smacked himself in the face with a groan. "Oh, come on! They're still good ideas."

"I guess..." Ori leaned a shoulder onto the desk and ran his fingers along the wood. "...How about if I brought them here? I'm pretty sure Sein likes books..."

Mokk shook his head slyly. "Sorry Ori, I can't let you be an overly sappy dork with your partner in my library." Ori groaned and let his face fall onto the desk. "I'm just kidding dork!" Mokk giggled and patted the spirit's head. "I'd love to meet this partner of yours."

"Oh, I think you two would get along great!" Ori picked his head up off the desk, propping his hands on it instead. "Sein's really smart, and they always like meeting my friends!"

"Then I suppose I'll be expecting a visit from you two. Need anymore help?"

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks for the talk, Mokk!" The moki nodded with a smile on his face, and waved as Ori ran out of the building.

There was a faint chuckle to Mokk's right, and he turned to see Gumo walking out from among the bookshelves. "Glad you were able to help him with that. He's asked pretty much everyone in Nibel, and no one was able to give him a good answer. To be entirely honest, I don't think anyone in Nibel has ever actually gone on a proper date before."

"That's because you guys live in the middle of nowhere." The gumon laughed and shook his head. "Got what you need?"

Gumo placed a thick, blue book on the table, one about various metals that could be found in Niwen. "Yeah, just something Grom wanted me to get him." Mokk visibly cringed, and Gumo chuckled. "I'll tell him to try and not get it dirty."

"Like that'll help..." he muttered, quickly scribbling the necessary details into his book. Once he was done, Gumo took back the book, and left with a wave.

Mokk sighed and straightened himself on his seat, as one of his fellow Moki walked in. His job could get a bit... unorthodox at times, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Realizing that I don't have to make these one shots long made me feel a new emotion.


End file.
